In 2011 I posted this free pattern of a very simple Christmas tree. Back then I made it with Drops Paris yarn and a crochet hook size 4mm. Yesterday I made another one with Lammy Hawai yarn and a crochet hook size 5mm. The pattern is here. I bought the snowflakes at Dille & Kamille. I hope you have a lovely Sunday!

Because I've spent most of my time studying last year most crochet ideas somehow faded to the background. Lately I had moment when I didn't know what to crochet. In the end I always have some nice projects somewhere, but it wasn't as easy as before. As if I had forgotten how it goes. That all changed when I received an email from an American book publisher last week. They asked if I was interested in contributing to a new book. Ofcourse I didn't say no to that :-) The ideas popped up immediately and it was all of a sudden like I was back where I used to be before I started studying: full of plans and ideas. Now all I need is finding the time to do it all :-) I'll keep you updated about the new book, I'm very much looking forward to this!

Ofcourse I'm crocheting myself for the charity project in Romania (click here). This weekend I made a cat. I made it before, but then in another color. And the nose of this cat is different then the other one. Click here to go to the blog post about the other ccat.I made this cat with just 1 ball of Lammy Hawai yarn, a crochet hook size 5mm and scraps of yarn for the scarf. It's a super easy pattern (click here).Do you want to send in toys for Romania as well? Send me an email and I'll tell you where to send it. You can send in blankets, hats, scarfs or other crocheted stuff as well, but as the group will hand it out to children I asked for toys in my first blog post. But all other items are very welcome as well!

This very cute and free pattern is available here on this website. Isn't it a cute hedgehog? In the blog post you will find exactly what materials you will need to make it, and an estimate on how long it takes to have your hedgehog finished. Do you like crocheted hedgehogs? Click here to read some other blog posts about hedgehogs.

Isn't this cute? These very big owls are made with Ribbon XL. Click here to see more pictures on the blog of the maker. That blog is really worth a visit. It is written in French, but just going through all gorgeous pictures is fun as well. The pattern is just available in French, and I believe you can only order if you are in France (click here). Too bad, but who knows maybe it will be available in other languages one day.p.s. thanks to a helpful follower I now know that the pattern is available in French in this book.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Hij is zo leuk! De Haakkalender van Breiclub wordt echt mijn favoriete kadootje voor Sinterklaas en Kerst. In de Haakkalender 1.0 vind je 26 patronen verspreid over 365 dagen. Het leuke is dat er geen jaartal in staat, dus het maakt niet uit wanneer je hem koopt, hij is altijd geschikt om te gebruiken. Er staan zo veel leuke patroontjes in, als je elke dag haakt, dan heb je over een jaar een prachtige haakcollectie waarbij je ook nog eens nieuwe dingen hebt geleerd! Er zijn patronen voor beginners maar ook voor meer ervaren hakers, en dat is erg leuk want zo is het voor iedereen een geschikt kado. Wil je de haakkalender nog kado doen met Sinterklaas? Wees er dan snel bij want iedereen die voor 1 december besteld heeft de kalender vóór Sinterklaas is huis (leverdatum is +- 1 december). De actieprijs van de haakkalender is €17,95 en kan hier besteld worden in de webshopvan Breiclub. Let op: als je de kortingscode annemariekalender15 gebruikt dan betaal jeniet het actietarief van €17,95 maar slechts €16,95. Zoek je dus nog een leuk kadootje, voor jezelf of iemand anders, ga dan gauw hier naar de shop maak dan nog gauw gebruik van deze code!It is so cool! The Crochet Calender (written in Dutch) by Breiclub is really my favourite Sinterklaas or Christmas present. In The Crochet Calender 1.0 you will find 26 patterns that you can make during 365 days. The calender doesn't mention the year, so you can buy and use it anytime. There are so many cute patterns in it. If you decide to crochet every day you will have a lovely crochet collection in 365 days and you will learn new things as well. There are patterns for beginners and experienced crocheters, and that makes it a great gift for anyone who loves crochet. Do you want to give this calender as a gift for Sinterklaas or Christmas? Make sure to get is quickly, because everyone that orders before the 1st of December will receive it this week (date of delivery is around the 1st). The discount price is currently 17,95 but if you use the discount code annemariekalender15 it only costs 16,95! So if you are looking for a cute gift for yourself or somebody else, go here and make sure to use the code!

When I walked around in Delft lately I ended up in a shop where I'd been before. They sell this gorgeous scarf. It is crocheted of granny squares and I would love to have the pattern. Oh well, ofcourse I don't need a second one. :-) I'm really happy with it. It's made out of very soft yarn and the quality is really good. Unfortunately this shop doesn't have a webshop, but it does have a facebook-page. You can find it here.

What a lovely book! That's what comes to mind when I have the book Hero en de Draak (Hero and the Dragon) in front of me. The book is written by Mr Cey from the shop Pera & Pasha. A lovely shop in the centre of Pijnacker in The Netherlands. When I go through the book a couple of things stand out. First of all: the pages of the book are made out of lovely thick paper. That's really handy, because you can read the story in the book as a bed time story to your kids. The book starts with an explanation on how to crochet and what materials to use.After that, the story begins. Besides the fact that it reminds me of a fairytale, I won't tell anything about it so you can read it yourself. In the story you will meet twelve individuals, and you can crochet them all. A dragon, a fox, a dog, a cat and a lot more. And ofcourse Hero, the main character of the book. Most of the patterns start with making a magic ring. In the beginning of the book you will find a clear tutorial on how to make a magic ring. The patterns are very clear and I can say I really like the book. I really love the idea of combining a book that you can read for kids with crochet patterns that tell how to crochet the toys that are in the story. So in short: it's a lovely book that really is an addition to all crochet books that are already here. You can buy the book here.

Because I love this bag a lot I decided to start making it. I still had some yarn from the Zeeman-shop so in an evening I made 7 squares. I needed 24 for this bag, but the squares are easy to make. Because I'm using a 5mm crochet hook they became pretty big. Actually, they became too big for a bag. And that's when I remembered that I have a very large cushion in my closet (72x72cm), and all of a sudden I knew: I was going to make a cover for it with these squares. I do need to make some extra squares now, because I need 50 squares for the cover instead of the 24 I already made.By the way, in the corners I did 2 chain stitches in stead of 3. I thought it looked better, especially now that I'm using a 5mm crochet hook and I don't want the holes to be too big. I can't wait until it's finished, and as you can see my cat can't wait either as you can see on this picture on Instagram.

Some patterns are so cute that I get really excited when I stumble across them on the internet. This is Muffin, the doll from Suzy (from Spike and Suzy), and you can find the pattern here. I used to read Spike and Suzy when I was younger and I could disappear for hours in the huge orange pile of books. This pattern was designed by Miriam from the blog Birdie Haakt. A blog that you should check out, because she has so many lovely patterns. Like this pattern from Paulus de Boskabouter (a figure from a Dutch tv-show). Now that you are on my blog: have you read this post already? I'm collecting toys for Romania, do you want to send some in as well?

Yay! We have three winners that are no doubt all extremely happy that they won this super cool book Amigurumi Baby and Parent Animals. The winners are:Riannes HaakselsGreetje-CreatiefjeCrealiertjeCongratulations ladies! Please send me an email with your address and the book will be send as soon as possible.For those that didn't win: there will be other giveaways in the near future. If you want to buy this book you can go here. And please come back tomorrow. I will introduce you to Miriam who has a very cute blog with amazing (free) patterns. I hope to see you here tomorrow!

Have you seen the book Amigurumi Baby and Parent Animals by Amigurumi Patterns? It's on my desk in front of me and if I didn't have it I would certainly add it to my wishlist. You will find a huge collection of patterns in this book. There are 12 families (see the picture below) and every family is incredibly cute. In total you will find 25 patterns in the book. I like them all, but ofcourse I have a favourite. I love the deer, but the kangaroo is very cute as well. And what about the butterfly? On the last pages of the book you can read short stories about the designers. They come from all over the world but ofcourse I was happy to see that one of them is from The Netherlands (Zabbez).Do you think this book is totally your style? Then enter the giveaway! You can do so by leaving a comment below. I'll announce the winner this Wednesday evening. Make sure to check my blog by then because you might be one of the three lucky birds. Good luck!

Do you remember how I collected toys for Romania last year and the year before? This year I will collect them again. I'm handing over the toys to a group of people that bring food, clothes and toys to Romania to give them to people that live in poverty. So the toys are most welcome as you can see on this picture.What I collected in 2013 is in this blogpost, what I collected last year is in this blogpost. Do you like to make something too? Send me an email and I'll send you my address. Please note that the toys need to be at my house before the 20th of December. Free patterns of various toys are on this page. I hope to collect lots of toys again!

Did you enter the giveaway of the Kerstbeleving '15? Then you are probably anxious to know if you won. Here are the winners:Anita Oele - Van de GrintGroetselsWendy's MhaakselsKlaske v.d BijKerveiCongratulations! Please send me an email and I'll send you the free tickets as soon as possible. Enjoy the Kerstbeleving!About the patterns above, I collected them last year. If you click here you will go to the blog post where you can find the links to the patterns.

Did you miss the KreaDoe Craft Fair? Or are you still totally in the mood and are you looking forward to visiting another lovely fair? On 5,6,7 and 8 November you can visit the Kerstbeleving '15 in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch. It's a lovely Winter Fair and there are a lot of fun things to do: you can follow creative workshops, there's a CreaMarkt, you can do some ice skating, visit lots of creative demonstrations and you can have a lovely dinneer. You can check out the list of participants here and if you click here you can read all the fun stuff you can do at this fair. Do you want to go with somebody to this lovely fair? I'm giving away 5 tickets that are valid for 2 persons! What you need to do to win? Leave a comment below. I'll announce the winners this Wednesday evening. Good luck!

Last week the long expected Crochet Party, organised by Lisanne from the blog Draad en Praat en the yarn shop Knottenwol took place. I had been looking forward to it for a long time because I had been on a Crochet Party of Lisanne before and that was so much fun! I met a lot of creative crocheters at the previous party, and when I checked the list of invitees this time I was super excited.This time it was also very close to home for me, because the party was at Knottenwol, a yarn shop within walking distance from my house. So at twelve o'clock sharp I was at the store. Behind the shop of Knotten there is a lovely workshop area, and Francis (from Knotten) and Lisanne made it a lovely cosy place with (ofcourse) a lot of crochet projects from the shop of Francis. Besides that there was a huge pile of yarn by Lana Grossa and we were invited to make some lovely crochet projects with that yarn. I started with Lala Berlin Hairy, which is a very fluffy yarn. I thought it would be difficult to work with but it wasn't at all. There's just one thing you'd better not do with this yarn: pull it out and start over again. That's when the yarn turned into a huge knot so make sure to get a good pattern before you start. Not only was it fun to crochet, I really enjoyed to see what others were making. I saw color changes, scarves, cols and some people were planning to crochet a vest. I was so busy crocheting and talking that I simply forgot to take pictures, but fortunately you can still check out some pictures of this afternoon via Instagram. If you use the hashtags #lanagrossahaakparty or #garenproeverijknotten, you will find lots of nice pictures of the yarn and the afternoon.
When I went home I got a huge bag with really nice yarn, and a pile of beautiful Lana Grossa books to crochet from or to get inspired with. So during the next few weeks I'll be busy figuring out what to do with that beautiful yarn. Oh, I almost forgot: on the picture above you can see a beautiful yarn what was in the bag. It's Lala Berlin Softness of Lana Grossa. It is very beautiful soft yarn in a beautiful pink color. I'm going to make a scarf of it and I will surely show you how it looks when it is finished. Have a nice Sunday!

While browsing the internet I suddenly found this gorgeous bag. The pattern is available for free here on this website. It's an English website but the pattern is a diagram. Together with the YouTube-videos it should be an easy job, even when you don't speak English. All materials are mentioned as well. Actually I never use dark colors but I think now it's really time to give it a try. I'm in love with this bag!

And ofcourse I crocheted some flowers myself for the Nationaal Ouderenfonds this week (read more about it here). In total I made 170 flowers. I loved making them, especially now that they are for charity. If you would like to send in flowers you can still do so. You can hand them in at Wolplein at the KreaDoe Craft Fair. If you send them by mail (click here for the address) they need to be at the Nationaal Ouderenfonds office at the 29th a the latest. If you hand them in at the KreaDoe you can do so even after the 29th. You can find flower patterns here and here.

When I was asked if I wanted to make a pouf with other material then Hoooked Zpagetti I didn't have to think long. It was always some sort of automatism to grab Zpagetti if I wanted to make a pouf, because it is just a good yarn for a project like that. But would there be another yarn that's just as nice? Or maybe nicer? I received a package with 10 balls of Rico Fashion Summer Yarn and when I picked it up from the door mat I couldn't believe that I was able to make a pouf of that. It weighed almost nothing, this couldn't be right. When I make a pouf, it's always hard work. The yarn is heavy and sometimes a bit stiff. So I started working with this new yarn very enthusiastic, but also slightly doubtful. But all I can say is: working with Rico Fashion Summer Yarn was absolutely great. I used a crochet hook size 8mm. That's a little smaller then what I usually use for a pouf and that's why it took a bit longer. I also had to adjust the pattern but I really didn't mind. Making this pouf was so easy that it was fun to do from the beginning until the end. When I worked with other yarns, I was always happy when I was finished, because my arms and shoulders would hurt. That wasn't the case at all this time. Ofcourse I've put it all aside every once in a while, but still I am totally satisfied about this yarn and the result. Despite the fact that this yarn is thinner then other t-shirt yarns the result is lovely. So: do you want to make yourself a pouf this winter and have you never tried because it is so heavy? With this yarn you might like it. You can order the pattern from the pouf on the picture here. A smaller version of the pattern made with the same material is available here. The yarn is available in print (click here), but also in basic colors without print (click here). Check out the shipping costs for your country here. I also made another pouf with other yarn. In this blog post you can read all about it. If you decide to try this project, I wish you lots of happy crocheting!

The Nationaal Ouderenfonds needs 6000 crocheted or knitted flowers or stars as soon as possible. Do you want to crochet along? Or do you have some flowers in your drawer that you don't use? Send them today because they are more then welcome. Click here to finds the address and to read more about it. Please note: if you send them by mail they need to be at the Nationaal Ouderenfonds before the 29th of October. If you go to the KreaDoe Craft Fair, you can give them to the people of Wolplein. They are present at the KreaDoe and you can give them the flowers during the entire KreaDoe, so even after the 29th. I hope you all will help us reach the number of 6000!* Click here for flower patterns. *

Have you entered the giveaway of the lovely book above? It's time to reveal the winner, and that is:MarmarelCongratulations! Please send me an email with your address and I'll send the book to you as soon as possible. If you didn't win you might want to order the book here. Do you want to see and read more from this book? I wrote a review in this blog post. That's where you can see more pictures from the book as well.

There are some books that you want to start working with right away. The book 'Mijn gehaakte knuffel' by Isabelle Kessedjian is a book like that. It's filled with gorgeous patterns, and I'd love to make them all. The book has 96 pages and was published by Kosmos Uitgevers. We know them already from a lot of lovely crochet books, check them out here. You can order the book here, but ofcourse you can also join my giveaway. Perhaps you win and if so, you get the book for free. So what do you have to do to win the book? Make sure to be a follower of my blog and leave a comment below. I'm giving away 1 book and I'll announce the winner on Wednesday. Are you in?

It was so much fun to read all comments on my latest giveaway. And it is so cool that so many people joined in! I can now reveal who won this fun pack of yarn. It'sAnna from the blog Anna's HaakwerkPlease send me an email with your address Anna, and I will send the pack to you as soon as possible. I wish you lots of fun with it.Did you love this pack of yarn just as much as I did? You can order it here on the website of LoveCrochet and if you use the discount code LOVEANNEMARIE you will get a lovely 10% discount in the webshop. You can download the free pattern of the V-stitch blanket here.